Westchester County, New York severe weather history spans 738 recorded events between 1959 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 45.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #362 nationally and #17 in New York.
738
Recorded events
10
Direct deaths
22
Direct injuries
$112.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Westchester County, New York severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Westchester County, New York severe weather history averages 11.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 208 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 21 events fall before 1990 and 717 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Westchester County, New York record is flash flood, responsible for 5 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $99.3M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Westchester County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 336 | 2 | $2.0M | 87 | 1959–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 221 | 5 | $99.3M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Hail | 81 | 0 | $250 | 3 | 1985–2024 |
| Flood | 49 | 1 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2021 |
| Heavy Rain | 19 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2009 |
| Lightning | 18 | 1 | $322K | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Tornado | 9 | 1 | $10.5M | F2 | 1971–2018 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2011 |
Decade by decade
Westchester County, New York severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
9 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 9 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-07-12 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 10.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-10-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-06-02 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-09-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-09-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-08-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-06-12 | EF0 | 1 | 0 | 0.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-09-03 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-11-16 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Westchester County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2, 2021 | Flash Flood | COUNTRY RIDGE ESTATE | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 12, 1991 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 2 | $0 | |
| Aug 28, 2011 | Flood | CROTON ON HUDSON | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Sep 2, 2021 | Flash Flood | PELHAM MANOR | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 2, 2021 | Flash Flood | TARRYTOWN | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 2, 2021 | Flash Flood | SCARSDALE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 25, 1999 | Lightning | HAWTHORNE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 9, 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | OSSINING | 1 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An elderly couple's vehicle was found pinned against a utility pole at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Brookside Way in Rye Brook. The couple are believed to have been swept away from their vehicle and down Blind Brook Creek and drowned.
A raft carrying five men capsized on the Croton River just south of Silver Lake Park shortly before 6 pm. The men were rescued from the raging river, which was moving at a speed of around 40 mph, but not before three of the rescue workers were tossed from their rescue boat and were swept under a trestle bridge just south of the Croton-Harmon station. The rescue workers were pulled from the water without injury. One man on the raft suffered from hypothermia after being forced to cling to a tree for 2 hours until he was rescued. Another was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Flash flooding resulted in an estimated $92.6 million in damages across Westchester County. This estimate includes $78 million in FEMA individual assistance to property owners, renters, and businesses and an additional $14.6 million in damages to Westchester County government infrastructure.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
999,677
Population (ACS)
$663K
Median home value
32
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 30, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 5, 2021 | Hurricane | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | DR |
| Sep 2, 2021 | Hurricane | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | EM |
| Aug 22, 2021 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HENRI | EM |
| Oct 2, 2020 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORM ISAIAS | DR |
| Mar 20, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Westchester County, New York?
738 events are on record between 1959 and 2026, causing 10 direct deaths and $112.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Westchester County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 336 recorded events — 45.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Westchester County?
9 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 9 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Westchester County?
32 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Westchester County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Westchester County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Westchester County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 96 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Westchester County, New York severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Wayne County 354
- Wyoming County 263
- Washington County 773
- Yates County 216
- Warren County 462
- Ulster County 941
Cite this page
“Westchester County, New York.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-york/westchester-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.